Dinging their bells, more than 100 cyclists donned smiles and not much else in the annual World Naked Bike Ride today.

The ride, which is to protest oil dependency, began at Coronation Park at 1 p.m. where passerbys looked confused as the fleet took off towards the downtown core.

"There's a lot of freedom in this," said one naked rider named David, who didn't want his last name used. "You just have to go for it, have no shame for a little while and you'll be all set. You just have to be careful of the bumps while riding naked."

The bike ride celebrating cycling and the human body is part of a series of international events - held under the tag line 'ending the indecent exposure to cars and pollution' - that have been taking place since 2001 in some 25 countries and 70 cities.

The two-hour nude route circled around the Eaton Centre, the Church-Wellesley area and finally ended in Kensington Market.

Shoppers at Yonge-Dundas Square snuck a peek through their fingers as they covered their eyes.

Doug Leacock, 65, who was visiting the city from Peterborough to see Riverdance with his grandkids said the ride was inappropriate for people of all ages.

"I'm totally surprised," he said. "I guess they got people's attention, but I think they can do better than riding naked down the street to make an impact."

Sue Colley, 57, who is on vacation from Louisiana, was on a sightseeing bus when she saw a glimpse of the buttocks and breasts brigade.

"I've never seen that and you wouldn't back home," she laughed. "It was fun to me. It didn't bother me and it's something I've never seen before."

Some cyclists even took time to paint themselves with slogans on their backs that read, "Freedom is precious" and "Share the road."

The naked frolic was a quiet one, Toronto Police said. No charges were laid for indecent exposure, although no word on the number of entire-body sunburns.

In fact, cyclist Leif Harmsen said most of the voyeurs along the route were supportive.

"A lot of people were yelling, 'Less gas, more ass' and 'Burn fat, not oil,'" he said. "People were excited and happy and feign embarrassment. They would cover their eyes for a moment and then laugh. It's something that people can enjoy as well as make people think."

The majority of Toronto's birthday suit riders were men, but a few women showed up as well. One cyclist named Anna said she got involved because she felt it was a good cause.

"I did wear a bikini because last year when I did it (nude), my boss recognized me from the back," she said. "And it was a little weird. But I may do it in Ottawa or Montreal next year."

Montreal also did their own naked ride yesterday with some 25 nude cyclists taking to the streets.

"This is a global movement because this is a global problem," Montreal organizer Dan Parkinson said.

"We're destroying our planet and that's doing a lot more damage than any sort of nudity could do to this city."